Lunar
External monitor brightness control for Mac that changes real brightness, contrast and volume over DDC.
BetterDisplayLunar controls external monitors from the Mac. It sends DDC/CI commands to change the monitor's own brightness, contrast, volume and input, instead of dimming the picture with a software overlay.
The keyboard brightness and volume keys work on the external display, with minimum and maximum limits per monitor, and you can switch inputs from a menu or with hotkeys. Sub-zero dimming takes the screen below 0 percent for late-night work. Apple displays such as the Studio Display, Pro Display XDR and LG UltraFine are supported natively. When a monitor ignores DDC, Lunar can fall back to gamma tables or send commands through a Raspberry Pi on the network. A command line tool is included.
Lunar Pro adds automatic brightness: Sync Mode follows the light sensor of a MacBook or iMac, Location Mode follows sunrise and sunset, and Sensor Mode uses an external light sensor. Pro also unlocks XDR Brightness, BlackOut for turning off chosen displays, FaceLight, and removes the free limit of 100 manual adjustments a day. Pro is a one-time $23 license, and every download starts with a 14-day Pro trial.
Lunar is made by Alin Panaitiu. The GitHub repository is MIT licensed, but the Pro code is encrypted, so the app cannot be built from it. Lunar 6 needs macOS 12 or later and runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel, with DDC support on all Apple Silicon Macs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lunar free?
Lunar has a free tier that covers DDC brightness, contrast, volume and input control, sub-zero dimming, hotkeys and the command line tool, with a limit of 100 manual adjustments a day. Lunar Pro is a one-time $23 license that removes the limit and adds the automatic modes.
Is Lunar safe and open source?
The source is on GitHub under the MIT license, but the code for the paid features is encrypted and the developer has paused outside contributions. Download it from lunar.fyi or Homebrew to get the official build.
How do I install Lunar?
Download Lunar.dmg from lunar.fyi and drag the app to Applications, or run brew install --cask lunar in Terminal.
What macOS version does Lunar need?
Lunar 6 needs macOS 12 or later. The website also offers the older Lunar 3 for macOS 10.12 and later.
How does Lunar compare to BetterDisplay?
BetterDisplay is a menu bar display tool with free features and a $21.99 perpetual Pro license. It focuses on HiDPI scaling, virtual screens, EDID overrides and extra XDR or HDR brightness, and it also has DDC control. Lunar focuses on brightness: hardware DDC control in the free tier and adaptive brightness modes in Pro. Pick BetterDisplay for scaling and virtual displays, and Lunar for automatic brightness on external monitors.
Can Lunar match my external monitor to my MacBook brightness?
Yes, with Sync Mode, which is part of Lunar Pro. It reads the built-in light sensor of a MacBook or iMac and adjusts the external monitors to follow it.
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